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Compensation for construction deaths unfair in Morris County

Published 1:42 p.m. ET Jan. 26, 2018

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Through no fault of their own, two Honduran-born construction workers were buried alive in Boonton. Their five children were compensated with $50,000 sum total, according to a recent article, “Landscaper Admits Trench Liability.” That amount, suggested by the Morris County Prosecutor, is ridiculously small, and in no way can make up for the future earnings lost to the families of Oscar Portillo and Selvin Zelaya.

Are immigrant workers’ lives worth so little in Morris County? One has to wonder that if these men were white, instead of Hispanic, the value placed on their lives would have been much higher.

Rev. Wendy Spector, Mount Tabor

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